7 Startup Must Haves

Here are 7 startup must haves. Each startup has their own perks from nap pods to game rooms. They are fun and provide a great environment for your team to collaborate or cool down after a long day. However, there’s also the must-haves for startups, the things you need in order to “Crush it” as a startup. Here’s a list of must haves that every startup must carry in order to call themselves a “startup”.

Large White Board

The first startup must haves is a large white board. White boards are an absolute staple in the office. While you and technology are joined at the hip, there is little that compares to gathering your team in front of a whiteboard to hash out ideas. Whiteboard serves as a creative outlet and also essential for many team bonding exercises. I mean…what’s a better way to keep tallies on who’s dominating in a team exercise than a white board?

Excellent Web Design

Reputation is everything, and your website represents what you do and how well you can do it. Design communicates your business to your audience, so you cannot afford to have anything less than amazing. This is one of those worthwhile investments that you won’t truly appreciate until the time comes. Do yourself a favor and hire a good web design team to build your website. Don’t rely on cheap templates or website builders just to save on cost. Your reputation matter and a quality website is on the very top of startup must haves.

Notebooks

As old school as notebooks are, they are an excellent way to jot down ideas. You can take it everywhere you go, and it does not require batteries. A notebook filled with notes are like your startup’s “Yearbook”. Years later you will look back at all your old notebooks, read the notes, the silliness, and laugh at yourself.

Stickers

Stickers on the wall, stickers on your laptop, stickers on your mug, stickers on you bookbag..stickers everywhere! After all, stickers are just a fun and goofy way for you to show off to the world how young, hip, and adventurous you are. Don’t forget those inspirational quotes MUST HAVES. Can’t come to the office feeling uninspired can you?

Cloud Server

Organization is important, especially as your company grows. You want projects in one place and the ability to share files. Having a cloud server eliminates the possibility of duplicate versions of work and you will lose less data if everything is in one place.

Cross-Training

With a good team, you can accomplish many things. With a GREAT team, you can take over the world. Startup culture consists of people wearing many hats or “jacks of all trades.” Cross-training will be a way to educate internally and position individuals as leaders.

Coffee

Your team needs fuel, and more often than not, that fuel is coffee. It can range from basic coffee machines to three-in-one combination coffee brewers, but the objective is the same. A good cup of coffee can make an entire workday better and increase productivity.

Owner’s Mag: RadRover Electric Bike Review

The US has seen a rise in biking trends in the past couple of years. More people use bikes to go to work. It’s a way to save up on gas, help the environment, and get some workout done.

For bike enthusiasts in the US, biking means testing their bikes’ limits as they enjoy the great outdoors. Electric bikes or fat bikes offer these bikers a chance to use their bikes for every trail and occasion.

One of the electric or fat bikes you can see in the market is the RadRover Electric Bike. Just like any other e-bike or fat bike in the market, it helps you navigate through different terrains and trails. You can also speed up or cruise as you wish. With so many e-bikes in the market, how does the RadRover Electric Bike stand out?

At A Glance: The RadRover Electric Bike

The Need for Speed

The RadRover Electric Bike has a 750W Bafang Geared Hub Motor. In layman’s terms, it gives you all the torque you need to power through that terrain. However, some say the sound of the motor is noticeable at slower speeds. If you speed up (safely, of course, never forget that), the sound fades.

Current e-bike laws in the US indicate that you can ride up to 20mph only. The motor will help you stabilize your speed without incurring any fines or warnings for speeding.

Their Kenda 4” tires are huge and wide but it offers stability and makes it light and easy for you to navigate and shift to any type of trail. Their front RST suspension work helps riders have a smoother ride.

The electric bike’s pedals are made out of metal, which makes it sturdy and stable as you cruise or speed up. The PAS can help you speed up without the need for a throttle. It has five different levels.

The higher the PAS, the lighter and faster your ride is. You might want to save some juice for the trip home because it can drain your battery faster. But, if you want to have a quick stroll in the park or want to have a lower body workout, use levels 1 or 2.

If you need to boost your riding speed, you can activate the half twist-grip throttle. You can activate it on-demand. But don’t worry if you accidentally pressed on it, since it has a power button for incidents like that.

Safety First

If you’re riding at night, orange reflective strips glued on the tubes can help others become aware you’re there. Reflective sidewall strips are also attached to the bike spokes.

At night, riders can turn their LCD backlight to check their speeds and battery life. It turns on along with the headlights and brake lights. It has a strobe feature that can alert others.

The RadRover Electric Bike’s Kenda puncture-resistant tires will protect the tires from any sharp or pointed objects like glass or thorns. Due to the wideness of the tires, riders can expect a non-slip grip when braking.

Their brakes are responsive due to the sensors and can help a rider from slowing down to stopping entirely. While their brakes are powerful, you might need some time to adjust.

While you’re riding uphill or downhill, you have shifters right next to the throttle. It’ll help you take control as you pedal some steep terrains.

Have Fun While Getting Fit

Cycling is a hobby that lets you enjoy the great outdoors and get some exercise out of it as well.

For the young at heart, biking is one of the ways you can improve your health.

Many riders find that biking with RadRover improved their overall health. You don’t have to test your limits by going on an all-terrain bike trip. Take it to your nearest grocery store or mall, that would help you save up on gas and give you the exercise you need daily.

One of the reasons the RadRover improved some of its bikers’ health was because of the way they’re seated. Instead of leaning forward, you remain upright on your bike. It puts less strain on your back and neck and it helps your posture. If the bike affects your posture, you can adjust the seating the way you want it.

Plus, the seats are comfortable!

You’ve Got The Power

Going on your next adventure? Charge your bike 5 to 6 hours before you hit the terrain and ride for up to 45 miles on a single trip.

Don’t worry if your smartphone runs out of juice, the RadRover Electric Fat Bike can charge it while taking your bike out for a spin.

Pricing

Some electric fat bikes run for $2,000. If that’s too steep a price, RadRover’s Electric Fat Bike is priced at $1499 with free shipping for the lower 48 states. If the price is too much for you, but you want this bike so bad, you can go for $91/month payments by using Affirm.

If you live in Hawaii, you’ll need to cash out $400 for shipping. Sadly, for Alaskans, you need to contact the store directly if you need to buy one.

Conclusion

The RadRover Electric Bike enables riders to have fun (and get some workout done) at any speed. The e-bike also ensures the safety of its riders, which doesn’t get in the way of riding. For a mid-range priced e-bike, other e-bikes have got some serious competition.

So, whether you’re buying to save up on gasoline costs (and the environment) or an e-bike enthusiast, this bike is for you. It’s an all-around bike taking you to places smoothly and safely.

Top 50 Unlimited Graphic Design Companies (+25% Promo)

Looking to hire an in-house graphic designer or trying to scale graphic design offering to grow your business? What used to be an expensive and unpredictable endeavor has been disrupted by a new wave of companies who call themselves “Unlimited graphic design services”. These startups are able to offer you the same benefit as a full-time graphic designer but at a fraction of the price.

Which Provider Should You Choose?

We’ve done the homework and curated a list of Unlimited Graphic Design providers for you and also negotiated special deals on your behalf. You can see them all below and decide which one fits your needs.

MeetAnders

$497

Design Buffs

£350

Design Joy

$549

What Does Unlimited Graphic Design Mean?

Just about every Unlimited Graphic Design provider offers the design service via a monthly subscription. After checkout, you gain access to their workflow. Some connect you to their Trello board, others resort to giving you a special email to send your design requests to, and a few more sophisticated providers have their own online platform/portal.

Once you’re connected to their workflow, you can begin submitting as many design requests as you want. Although they all claim “Unlimited”, it generally means you can “create” unlimited design requests. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll work on them all at once. Usually, they just work on one design at a time. When one completes, they start the next design.

The usual turnaround time is between 1 – 2 days, and that’s just for the first draft. It doesn’t mean your whole entire request is done. If you don’t like it, you can request as many revisions as you want, and that will take more time. So it can take up to a week to actually get design complete if you have a lot of revisions.

Another thing to keep in mind is content. You need to be able to have everything ready and provide all the content needed in order for their designers to get started.

Are they worth it?

If you have a lot of design needs, they’re definitely worth it. Being it’s a monthly recurring investment, you’ll need to make sure that you have the need for ongoing graphic design service. This graphic design service model is comparable to outsourcing a designer yourself, except much of all the management work is done by the company. The quality of designs and turnaround time also tends to be significantly better when outsourcing a designer yourself.

‘Or Die Trying’ Webseries Empowering Millennials

Inspiring millennials across the nation, Or Die Trying is sharing a story about four women living in Hollywood pursuing their dreams in the entertainment industry. In this exclusive interview, they reveal the truth about LA, crowdfunding, and feminism. The passion behind the webseries stem from the lives of the creator Myah Hollis and producer Sarah Hawkins. They are the masterminds behind Or Die Trying, and this is how they’re doing it.

What is Or Die Trying about?

MH: Or Die Trying is about four millennial women living and working in Hollywood. When it comes to their careers in the entertainment industry, they know what they want and they have an idea of what it will take to get there, but they struggle with making all of the pieces of their lives mesh seamlessly. While they’re strong in one area, they’re lacking in another. It’s a story about their journeys as they develop as women and try to come to some type of equilibrium, while not compromising who they are in the process.

Tell me about the characters.

MH: Amelia Tinsley is a journalist, struggling with her identity and her sense of purpose, and trying to get herself back on track. Bailey Rosenberg is a comedian who is totally in tune with who she is and what she wants, but is having opposing expectations forced on her by her mother who wants her to live more traditionally. Ellie Hansen is an indie actress who is disinterested in the idea of fame at the expense of art, even though she’s constantly being pressured to “sell out.” Raegan Thomas is the creator and co-showrunner of a TV show who, although she’s doing very well professionally, is dealing with things in her personal life, and she doesn’t really have the ability to compartmentalize the two. Each character is trying to achieve a sense of balance between two dueling aspects of their lives.

How did you ladies meet?

SH: Myah and I met a few years ago in Philly where we both lived and worked. We both made the leap to LA within months of each other in 2013, Myah moving here for writing, and I sought to pursue acting. Being friends and fellow film industry ladies, we wanted to create something together that we could call our own, as if you wait for the perfect role or opportunity to come to you, you’re never going to find it. We’ve been work wives ever since!

Why LA?

SH: Los Angeles is like Mecca for artists and those striving to put one’s dreams into fruition. Most everyone is here with purpose, and that alone can be incredibly infectious. Who wouldn’t want to feed off that type of energy every day?

MH: If you’re seriously pursuing a career in TV or film, this is the heart of the industry. It’s where you need to be. It also helps that it’s sunny all year and there’s a ton of sushi.

What is your day to day like?

MH: Every day is hectic in its own way, but not extremely exciting to be honest. It’s just a marathon of checking things off of checklists, chugging gallons of caffeine and trying not to sink into the warm comfort of an unproductive Netflix binge.

SH: I’m not sure I can really echo Myah’s sentiments enough on the coffee bit. Coffee in an IV and an obscene mountain of emails.

What inspires you?

SH: My fellow women in film. I feel like there is such community within our little network that is just pure of heart and down to earth, so much that at times it can kick your own ego-butt every now and then. This industry can be just absolutely brutal, but when I see like-minded, passionate, badass women who just want to help level each other up, I get incredibly motivated to do the same and progress the conversation further.

MH: I think I’m most inspired by the statistical improbability that I should be successful as a writer in this industry. When I first decided that I would pursue this instead of going down one of the many roads that would lead me to a stable job, I was very aware of the fact this is something that I should fail at. More people fail than succeed, that’s just a fact. You know this going in but you do it anyway. The idea of being successful despite those odds is what drives me.

Why a story about women?

MH: There aren’t enough stories about women told by women. There’s a unique perspective that’s missing in Hollywood because women are not telling our own stories, therefore the stories that are being told are not representing us properly. It’s a systemic problem that will only change if we make it our responsibility to create more complex, realistic female characters.

Who are some of your role models? Why?

MH: Shonda Rhimes is my main professional role model, for reasons that feel really obvious to me but I’ll just go ahead and lay them out. She has knocked down so many barriers and has become the epitome of a woman building her own empire and playing by her own rules. She has beat the odds in every way, and that’s really inspiring. My role models in my personal life are my parents and my family and close friends. I’m just surrounded by so many strong, resilient and talented people, it’s insane.

SH: Amy Sherman-Palladino for the creation of Gilmore Girls, which is probably some of the best feminist writing on TV and on a personal level, my dad. He has been a huge influence on my career as an actor and as a producer, and is a constant source of inspiration.

What advice can you give to people chasing their dreams in LA?

SH: Find your “person(s)”. LA can be extremely lonely and competitive if you let it. Surround yourself with people who push you to be better, to think outside of yourself, to keep the end goals in perspective when the day-to-day gets muddled and messy. That’s what I love most about Myah’s & I’s relationship. She keeps me in check and we push on together.

MH: Don’t listen to people, listen to your instincts. Listen to your gut. Succeeding in this city takes stamina. Only you know when you’ve had enough. Don’t stop going after what you want until you’re sure you don’t want it anymore.

How did crowdfunding through Seed & Spark help you?

SH: Seed&Spark was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. Crowdfunding is never easy, but the folks at Seed&Spark vet you and prepare you on a level that is incredibly empowering. Really cool filmmakers came out of the woodwork to support us, not only financially but with loans of goods, services, promotions, etc. Our project became a community through Seed&Spark, and we’re excited to continue to build that village through production this October.

How are you trying to make your audience feel?

MH: I don’t ever want to tell people what they should feel. I’m kind of a psych nerd, so I can get a little hippie-dippie at times, but I really think that everyone is at a different point in their lives and different things resonate with you depending on what you’re experiencing at the time. I just want people to be able to empathize on some level, but whatever feelings our show ignites is fine with me as long as they’re engaged.

What is your message to your audience?

MH: You have to trust your instincts, regardless of the backlash that may cause. You also have to be willing to put in the work to become whoever it is you want to be, both professionally and personally. Those are the main things that I want people to walk away with. Other than that, I just hope people take what they need from it and that they’re both inspired and entertained.

What sort of person is going to love the show?

SH: We sought to really hone in on our fellow millennial women in film, because they are our community, our niche; the ambitious, driven women who know what they want and are actively doing everything they can to make it happen. I know ODT echoes universal truths far beyond that demographic, that dreams are worth fighting for, and given by the reaction to our trailer, our Seed&Spark Campaign, and other press, I can’t wait to see who latches on to it, as both men and women alike have been extremely anxious and excited for us to get it out there.

What was the happiest moment?

MH: Finishing the scripts was a huge relief. I tend to pick at them compulsively until they’re exactly the way I see it in my head, so when they were officially locked in and ready to go I felt like I could finally breathe.

SH: For me, it’s the seeing the community we are beginning to build with Or Die Trying. A distinct moment was at our ODT Networking Party, and looking out into the crowd to see all the amazing people who not only came out to support our series, but came out to connect with fellow filmmakers and level each other up by networking with one another. It was so cool to witness!

How has pursuing Or Die Trying affected your lives?

MH: It’s completely dominated the past year and a half of my life. Everything has revolved around this project for so long, that I don’t really remember what I was doing with my days before. It’s also made me really confident in my abilities as a writer and producer, and very thankful to be surrounded by such talented and creative people every day.

SH: Same! ODT on the brain 24/7.

What struggles are women facing today?

SH: I’m going to chunk this down to women in film because there are some pretty wild problems outside of this industry women have been and are currently fighting against. To put it plainly, there is unequal opportunity for women behind and infront of the camera, unequal pay above and below the line, and very little movement to illuminate the female perspective onscreen.

Would you consider yourselves feminists?

SH: Yes. Men and women are equals, it’s time our society reflects it. Feminism shouldn’t be a dirty word.

MH: I honestly don’t understand how you can not be a feminist. There are negative implications about what feminism is, but it’s very simply the belief that women are equal to men in every capacity. I can’t believe that’s something that we’re still debating as a society.

How do you feel about the film industry today?

SH: I think we are in a unique time where collaboration and creation is becoming increasingly more welcome than competition. So much of this industry is cut-throat, but when it comes down to actually bringing a project into fruition on the indie level, I believe most people are in it for the right reasons. Maybe that’s naive of me to say, but at the very least, that’s been our experience with ODT. Everyone just wants to be apart of something bigger than themselves, and I believe our series speaks to that.

What obstacles have you faced?

SH: The proverbial “no,” and learning that it has no real merit on you or what you’re capable of achieving.

MH: The great thing about building your own projects and creating your own opportunities is that you don’t face many obstacles that you can’t overcome. There are always logistics that need to be figured out, but the fact that you’re not waiting for someone to tell you what you can or can’t do eliminates a lot of that hesitation and stress that can hinder you in this industry.